A report by the Financial Times states that there has been a 32% increase in cryptocurrency fraud in the past year, reaching 226 million pounds ($273 million) in that time frame.
The United Kingdom is currently experiencing a recession, which makes some people more prone to fraud because they are less protected. It is likely that the situation will worsen heading into 2023, according to a major survey.
A recent survey by S&P Global indicates that the economy is shrinking at a quarterly rate of 0.4%, according to a survey taken among purchasing managers. The mood in November was generally gloomy, with new business dropping at the fastest pace in almost two years. This was because services firms saw their new business decline at an alarming rate.
Source: S&P Global
“A further sharp fall in business activity in November adds to growing signs that the UK is in a recession, with GDP likely to fall for a second consecutive quarter in the closing months of 2022,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global.
“Whenever times are tough, fraudsters always seek to prey on less experienced investors by promising huge returns," said Hinesh Shah, a forensic accountant at Pinsent Masons, in a recent interview with the Financial Times.
The United Kingdom has already seen several cases of cryptocurrency thefts over the past year, where a large amount of cryptocurrency worth hundreds of millions of pounds has been seized by the police.
Hundreds of millions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency have been seized by the UK police in the last few weeks as a result of this campaign.